Posts tagged ‘Hugo Strange’

David Hine and Jeremy Haun conclude the look at Jeremiah Arkham in Detective 865 (July 2010).

Jeremiah’s three special patients never existed at all. They were all hallucinations, which is quite staggering, considering the elaborate back stories they were given in earlier tales. The marrotte, the jester stick that Arkham has been carrying, gets broken, and is revealed to be filled with psychotropic drugs.

Hugo Strange had convinced Arkham that he needed to understand madness in order to cure it, and suggested he visit the Joker to try to understand him better. And in walked the fly to the spider. The Joker gave Arkham the wand, which slowly drove him mad. He adopted the identity of Black Mask, after Sionis’ death, which gave him the strength and power he had craved.

After the drugs are washed out of him, he insists that he is fine, he has regained his sanity.

He gives the code to de-activate the bomb he had planted on the man (from the previous issue), but it explodes anyway. Was Arkham just too late, or did the code he give activate the bomb?

He is left in the care of Alyce Synner, the new head of the asylum, and his lover when he was Black Mask. She sets Zsasz on him, but once again Jeremiah proves his stuff, carving his initials into Zsasz’s eyelids.

Sadly, this is, I think, the final appearance of Jeremiah Arkham before Flashpoint wipes out this reality. The New 52 restores his sanity and position.

Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner bring the Question’s series to a close in this issue.

Renee is determined to take the burning mark, to save Helena, but Helena wants no sacrifices for her. Essentially, the two women fight over which one gets eternal damnation.

The Huntress starts the process of removing the mark, but the Question intervenes. Still, Vandal starts losing the mark, so someone must be gaining it.

The Huntress and the Question flee. Helena knows that she does not have the mark, as her face is clear.

Renee refuses to remove her mask.

A strong ending. But again, I think this is The Huntress’ final appearance before Flashpoint. The Question returns a few months down the road in Detective Annual 12.